In 1815, Antolini's plans for the rebuilding of the west end of St Mark's Square in Venice, where the old church of San Geminiano and extensions of the Procuratie Vecchie and Procuratie Nuove were demolished as part of Napoleonic schemes for alterations to the Piazza, also ran into trouble.
The Procuratie Vecchie and the Procuratie Nuove house old, famous and expensive coffee houses, cheek-by-jowl: Gran Caffè Quadri, Caffè Florian, which opened its doors December 29, 1720, and Caffè Lavena, in the same premises since the mid-18th century; it was Richard Wagner's favorite.